Eyes like Lavender
by ShadowWeasel
Summary: Regina Lavender was the only girl in the world for me. Beautiful locks of crimson hair, pale, freckled skin, and eyes like lavender. We were going to grow old together in Lavender Town. Everything was going right for me. Until the day they found her dangling from the rafters. It was because of them. They made her do it. And I won't rest until those monsters are brought to justice.


I stood warily above her ice-plastered headstone, the frozen earth chilling my toes to the point of immobility. The black engraving read her name to me in beautiful stone text in the shape of Unown. She had asked for it to be that way. She always thought the Unown to be... such fantastic creatures.

_Here lies Regina Lavender_

My hands moved automatically, drawing a cigarette from my coat pocket and to my face. I bit the roll and retrieved a match from the opposite pocket.

_Friend_

The matchstick ignited in a glorious explosion of amber and blue sparks, flickering down to a dancing ember that wavered precariously back and forth.

_Pokemon-Lover_

I felt a tear emerge from my left eye. I fought it back and lit my cigar. The rolling plumes of gray smoke only made it worse.

_"No matter what, never cry. It's never bad enough that you have to cry."_

That's what her grave said. But I didn't listen. With a broken, dry sob that shook my body, I spat ashes and smoke into the foggy air around me. Tears glimmering with crystalline, silver light rained from my eyes.

I tossed the cig from my trembling mouth, away from her burial ground. The smoldering thing flew end-over-end and crumpled to burning rubble on the cold, almost blue ground. I could feel their eyes on me already.

"Regina, forgive me," I told her corpse, the one that was six-feet under. I was on my knees, rummaging through my satchel as I spoke sweet nothings to her headstone. "I couldn't stop them."

The noises of Ghost Pokemon rumbled in the coming darkness. The sound of hungry, restless souls. They wanted her body. I wouldn't let them have it.

My Abra stood vigilant beside my crouching form. Regina had named him Kazam. He was staring at the approaching enemies with closed eyes, simply feeling their energies with his Psychic mind. He growled something in his animal-tongue, his body glowing with blue flame as the Ghosts came nearer.

I retrieved the pouch of Shoal Salt from my bag and emptied the smooth, white powder onto my palm. Then I stood, my fist trickling with grains of salt. I stared defiantly into their glowering faces. Haunter. Ghastly. Gengar. There were at least ten of them.

Purple, bleeding fangs portruded like ugly bones from their open maws. Their eyes narrowed into the shapes of daggers and blades, gleaming with pure white energy that burned my own toxic, indigo orbs. One Haunter hovered forth, dragging a pair of huge, knife-like claws behind him.

Without thinking, I tossed a fistful of Shoal Salt in his direction, screaming at him to get the hell away. When the milky-white substance came into contact with his violet, coarse, ectoplasmic skin, he shrieked in horrible agony. The stuff he called skin bubbled and melted and sizzled with awful, ungodly sounds that stabbed my ears. The Haunter roared in pain, stumbling backwards and into the shadows, his face dripping and oozing black blood like wax.

Quickly, I took the remaining salt from the pouch and began to draw a circle around my love's grave. Kazam watched me as I did so, glancing nervously at the grumbling darkness.

When I finished, I pulled the silver cross from my pocket and raised it skyward. I felt the presence around me shiver with holy energies. "Stay the hell away!" I shouted at the black, waving the symbol around me wildly. "You have no power here!"

The wild Pokemon fled, their ghostly forms trailing black and purple waves of energy behind them.

I stood there for what felt like hours, staring blankly at the fog-covered world around me, waiting for the bastards to come back for another try. But none did. Even so, I kept the cross raised until my arm's muscles failed me.

_"Abra..." _Kazam spoke softly after a while, looking to me for guidance.

I sighed in reply, tucking away the silver emblem and turning my back on her stone. It took every ounce of willpower I had inside me to stay facing away from her. "Yeah," I told my loyal friend. "We're heading back."

The top of Pokemon Tower glowered down at me almost a mile away, and I could feel the presence of its spirits attacking me with their eyes.

_"No matter what, never cry."_

I pulled another cig from my trench coat and took a drag.

_"It's never bad enough that you have to cry."_

Smoke pouring from my mouth, I breathed a plume of gray air and wandered back to Lavender Town.


End file.
